can a blocked phone be unblocked (phone was lost/stollen)

My phone was lost and stollen as it wasnt returned to me... someone did find it and decided to ignore my hundreds of calls to give the opportunity to give it back.. i know someone had it as my network said they accessed the internet but didnt make any calls.. so had the phone and sim blocked.

Someone told me this menas that they cant get the phone unblocked as it was blocked by the network. I thought they would be able to take it to get unblocked from the umpteen places that do it these days, but after a wee google search seems it may be true that they cant....

Groups

there are "umpteen places" can UNLOCK it-not UNBLOCK it-2 completely different things

20th Sep 2010

so what is the difference? is un lock to unlock the phone to allow any sim? And unblock is to re activiate the handsent?

So if i correct myself... is it possible to unblock a handset? Or will it stay blocked forever?

20th Sep 2010

fantastic.. result then !! Should keep my eye on ebay for a few days i guess!!

20th Sep 2010

carol123

so what is the difference? is un lock to unlock the phone to allow any … so what is the difference? is un lock to unlock the phone to allow any sim? And unblock is to re activiate the handsent?So if i correct myself... is it possible to unblock a handset? Or will it stay blocked forever?

unlocking allows the use of any networks sim-the blocking applies to the phones imei being blocked-as dcx has explained.you wont find anyone in the uk who will do this but the phone is still sellable abroad-to be honest,I dont see how keeping an eye on ebay is going to help you-what will you do if someone offers a same model phone as the one you lost?assume its yours? I dont get it?

20th Sep 2010

barky

unlocking allows the use of any networks sim-the blocking applies to the … unlocking allows the use of any networks sim-the blocking applies to the phones imei being blocked-as dcx has explained.you wont find anyone in the uk who will do this

afraid you will find people in the uk who do do this, its a hefty penalty if you get caught though up to 5 years imprisonment and/or £5k fine for any IMEI tampering, even if your IMEI gets wiped to all zeros in software modding and you then try to restore it. Its not an easy job but can be very lucrative for those who take the risks.

20th Sep 2010

obviously i wouldnt assume its mines unless it was being sold from a location near me...but ur right, it wont help me in anyway, just would love to catch someone out trying to sell it,

20th Sep 2010

thanks guys, pleased that its not going to be an easy task for them to re use my phone

20th Sep 2010

just been informed it can be done... if anyone from scotland you will know of the barras...seemingly its done easily from there

20th Sep 2010

It takes some very special and expensive hardware to mess with a phone enough to beat the blacklist.

Most markets have someone that can unlock, but unblocking is another matter. They don't really beat the blacklist, they give the phone a new identity. So it's still blacklisted but now it's got the same info as another phone (if you follow)...

deleted22222

20th Sep 2010

To change the IMEI you need a legit IMEI they get these by stupid people posting their IMEI on the internet

20th Sep 2010

so i guess if it does get blacklisted but used the same info as another phone it would make the phone useable but not allow all services? And i guess after having a new identity all my msgs, pictures etc will be well and truley gone? The thing that really gets me is someone being in about all my personal things... my phone was connected to my facebook and email aswell, so had to change the passwords yesterday... its great that tecnology is advancing but really open to fraud when things like this happen

20th Sep 2010

Most phone that get stolen are wiped as soon as their found, unless it's kids messing around.

As long as it's given the IMEI for the same model everything will work (unfortunately). If they mess up and give it the same IMEI as a phone on the same network they can run into problems as 2 phone with the same IMEI can't be on the same network at the same time (the network logs the IMEI when the phone connects).

You can (and should) always set a pin lock so that no one can get into your phone if you lose it. All the data/info is safe then.

20th Sep 2010

no idea how to do pin lock but i will be doing that for my new phone. Hopefully they dont go to the bother of trying to get it unblocked, and ifthey do i hope it is medded up big time Thank you I appreciate your sharing of knowledge